MADISON – The Wisconsin football team took care of the bottom line Saturday, but left plenty of room for improvement.
The Badgers defeated South Dakota, 27-13, at Camp Randall Saturday afternoon, fighting off a second-half surge for the Coyotes that allowed them to pull within four points midway through the third quarter.
Wisconsin, however, responded with a 50-yard field goal by junior Nathanial Vakos with 5 minutes left in the third quarter and a 1-yard run by senior Chez Mellusi at the 7:41 mark of the fourth to seal the game and improve to 2-0.
Senior quarterback Tyler Van Dyke completed 17 of 27 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Cade Yacamelli had a team-high 73 rushing yards in eight carries. Senior safety Hunter Wohler made a team-high eight tackles.
Next up is fourth-ranked Alabama next Saturday at 11 a.m. at Camp Randall Stadium.
Here are five takeways from the victory.
MORE: Box score | Big Ten standings | Wisconsin schedule
Badgers find success with run game in red zone
Wisconsin led by seven in the fourth quarter when it drove 85 yards in 11 plays for what proved to be the game-sealing score.
UW benefited from three personal foul penalties on the drive, but after getting a first down at the 14, offensive coordinator Phil Longo turned to the ground game to reach the end zone. The Badgers found success running the ball in the red zone last week with Tawee Walker. With Walker sidelined for the day, senior Chez Mellusi had two tough gains of 5 yards to set up a first and goal from the 4.
Three plays later Mellusi capped the drive with a 1-yard run on fourth and 1. Nathanial Vakos’ extra point gave UW it’s final margin of victory.
Mellusi scored his second and third touchdowns of the season and had a solid afternoon, gaining 60 yards in 16 carries.
Tackett Curtis leaves mark in Jake Chaney’s absence
The biggest loss of the day came for the Badgers defense when linebacker Jake Chaney was called for targeting late in the third quarter and ejected.
The good news is that Wisconsin didn’t appear to lose anything with the departure. Sophomore linebacker Tackett Curtis finished with five tackles, four came after Chaney left the game.
UW defense proves up to the test when back against wall
The Badgers D was put in a tough spot midway through the third quarter when Vinny Anthony muffed a punt that the Coyotes recovered at the UW 8. The situation got worse after the targeting call on Chaney, which gave South Dakota a first and goal at the 4.
Credit Wisconsin for tightening up when it mattered most.
With South Dakota playing for a chance to tie the game, the defensive line had its best moment of the afternoon. The unit got a good push on first down, which helped Curtis make a stop for a 3-yard tackle for a loss on first down.
On the next two plays, tackle Ben Barten deflected a pass from South Dakota quarterback Aidan Bourman and Elijah Hills sacked Bourman for an 8-yard loss to force a field goal attempt.
Will Leyland hit a 32-yard field goal with 5:06 left in the third to cut the Badgers lead to 17-13, but the situation could have ended up much worse.
Second TD shows impact of Tyler Van Dyke’s running
Part of Van Dyke’s work this offseason was to trim down to be in better condition to affect the game with his running. The Badgers’ second touchdown exemplified that effort even though the team scored on a 50-yard pass from Van Dyke to C.J. Williams.
Van Dyke faked the handoff to Chez Mellusi and then took off to the right side of the formation. The Miami transfer was off the races, right? Not so fast. This time he made a nice easy toss on the run to Williams but not before completely fooling the cornerback and safety.
Williams who caught the ball at the 25 and cruised into the end zone at the 4:48 mark of the second half.
Cade Yacamelli more than fills void in absence of Tawee Walker
Yacamelli’s solid play in camp was overshadowed by Mellusi and Walker, but on the big stage the redshirt sophomore has delivered.
He ran for 35 yards in 4 carries againat Western Michigan last week, mostly in late-game action. Saturday he stepped up for Walker, who didn’t play due to a leg injury, and ran 59 yards in seven carries in the first half. That included a career long jaunt of 29 yards. Three of those runs were for at least 5 yards.
He finished with eight carries for 73 yards.
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/uw/2024/09/07/5-takeaways-from-wisconsin-footballs-27-13-win-over-south-dakota/75099652007/
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 12:04:00
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